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Monday, February 16, 2015

Lego: Doctor Who

Recently, there was an announcement from Lego that caught my attention. They are going to finally do a Doctor Who set. You can click here for that announcement.

As a kid, my brother was the one with the Lego obsession. He had a bunch and he would kindly (sometimes after my parents told him to) let me play with them. I remember one General Conference when he and I sat quietly building our own stuff. I don't recall what he built, but I built a house that I really loved. There was a dad, a mom, a daughter, and twin sons. And it was pretty cool. As a writer, there was a story involving them. I can't remember what it was now.

Anyway, I didn't play with Legos too much as a kid. I never had the patience to build anything bigger than a 20-piece set. However, my wife and I have recently bought Legos for our kids (the past two Christmases had a bunch of Legos purchased.) And this past Christmas/birthday for me I got a pretty good Lego Batman collection and I really want to expand it some. (Mostly for Catwoman and Mr. Freeze as I have all the other figures I really care about.)

In discussion of Lego Batman with fellow Mormon Geek Joe, we've come up with the same issue. We love buying the Lego Batman sets, but every set comes with a Batman figure. I got the Batcave, Arkham Asylum, The Riddler's Chase, and the Joker Steam Roller. This means I got 4 Batman figures (5 if you include the Bruce Wayne figure with the Batcave.) So the downside with Batman sets is that you always get a Batman. They do what they can to keep each Batman different. But in the end, it's still Bruce Wayne in a costume.

But then that announcement was made and my whole Lego wish list immediately shifted.

Sadly, the above picture is not real. If it was, I'd be so excited to get the 4th Doctor. Come on, that scarf is just so awesome.

However, Batman's downfall is Doctor Who's plus side. Lego can easily create 13 different sets. And each set can have a lot of different characters. I could easily buy a set featuring the 4th Doctor (and his scarf) along with a Sarah Jane and a pair Daleks and turn around and justify purchasing the 10th Doctor with Donna and Ood Sigma. And then a little while later, I could by the 11th Doctor with Amy and Rory and Weeping Angels. Of course, there will easily be duplicates. Two Roses or three Sarah Janes. A "The Snowmen" set with all the main characters...(yes, big wish there.)

Seriously, Doctor Who has some staying power behind it. Not only that, but Doctor Who has become one of the most popular shows in the last 10 years. There are plenty of nerds and geeks that don't like it or don't get it. (I'm so sorry.) But in the last three (and only three) cons I've attended, I've seen so many different people cosplaying as a Doctor or a companion or villain. The lines for Doctor Who actors have always been long. Shoot, they sold out on tickets for the Doctor Who panel with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper.

So, yes, I'm excited for whatever Doctor Who they bring out. I will definitely do what I can to purchase it/them immediately. But until then, I'm gonna keep a look out for official announcements as to what the sets will look like.